Rivals Returns Round Up

Rivalries returned in Round 20 as fans flocked to the terraces for a record-breaking weekend!

Hull KR overturned a 12-0 deficit to record a ninth straight derby day win against their cross-city rivals on Thursday Night.

Joe Batchelor and Davy Litten crossed for early tries to give Hull FC the perfect start, before tries from Tom Amone and Arthur Mourgue levelled the scores going into the break.

The Robins went ahead for the first time thanks to a Jack Broadbent score, before stretching their lead to become eventual 20-34 winners.

On Friday, the Warriors earned a derby day victory against the Saints at The Brick Community Stadium.

The Saints gained the early advantage thanks to a Jack Welsby try inside the first five minutes. Bevan French quickly cancelled out the early try with one of his own, before Jacob Douglas regained the lead for the away side.

After that it was all Wigan, who went into half-time with a slender 18-12 lead before crossing for three more tries in the second half, with Lewis Murphy bagging a consolation score for the Saints, ending 38-16 in Wigan’s favour.

Wakefield Trinity romped home to a 52-14 victory against Castleford in the other Friday Night Rivals clash.

The Tigers led after the first 25 minutes, which also saw Wakefield’s Matty Storton sent off. However, Trinity quickly fought back to take an 18-10 lead into the break, before running away with the game in the second half.

The Giants edged past York on Saturday afternoon to record their first win since defeating the Knights in Rivals Round back in April.

There was little to separate the two sides throughout, with Zac Woolford’s 69 minute converted try extending Huddersfield’s lead to three scores ultimately being enough to close out the game 22-24.

The Leopards’ winning run continued in Round 20, defeating fellow top six hopefuls Warrington at the Leigh Sports Village.

Adrian Lam’s side raced away to a 16-6 half-time lead, before adding 12 more points in the third quarter. The Wolves managed to pull one back with 10 minutes to go thanks to an Albert Hopoate try but proved too little too late.

The Dragons ended a four game losing streak in a tightly-fought contest against Toulouse on Saturday.

The game was in the balance after 65 minutes with just a converted try separating the two teams. However, a Tommy Makinson try gave the Dragons an 8 point lead, which proved decisive despite a 79^th minute try from Toulouse’s Joe Cator, with the game ending 16-18 in the Dragons favour.

The final game of Rivals Returned saw the league leading Rhinos host the Bulls. Brad Arthur’s side took an 18-6 lead into half-time, before the Bulls reduced the deficit five minutes into the second half.

After that, it was all the Rhinos, who ran away with the contest to end comfortable winners.